Summary The CastPrivilege, under conduct of a pilot and in fair weather, was transiting the St. Lawrence River bound for the Cast Terminal in Montral, Quebec. At 23:41, during a course alteration to starboard near le Saint-Ours, the vessel experienced a blackout. As a result, the vessel swung to starboard and grounded outside the channel. Electrical power was restored within ten minutes and the vessel refloated shortly thereafter without tug assistance. There was no injury or pollution as a result of this occurrence. Ce rapport est galement disponible en franais. Other Factual Information Description of the Vessel The CastPrivilege is a conventional container ship with five cargo holds located forward of the bridge and crew accommodations and two cargo holds aft. The vessel has double sides and is fitted with a bulbous bow and bow thruster. It is built to Lloyd's Register (LR) Ice Class2 standards. The CastPrivilege is one of a fleet of container ships owned by Canmar and managed by Split Ship Management that maintains scheduled service between European ports and the Port of Montral. Three ship's service generators (SSG) generate a total of 3100kW. The Nos1 and2 SSG have a capacity of 900kW, whereas the N03 has an output of 1300kW. In addition to the vessel's domestic and machinery electrical requirements, the CastPrivilege has a capacity to carry 49reefer containers which, on average, consume 10kW each. The vessel is equipped with an emergency generator. However, neither steering gear power units are connected to it, as the vessel was built pursuant to the International Convention, Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 74. Hence, their supply systems are separate from the emergency power system. Machinery History On 26March2001, the company was informed that No2 SSG was out of service. It is reported that a counterweight had become detached from the crankshaft and severely damaged cylinder units NosA2 andB2, and the engine casing. In order to maintain an adequate supply of electrical power, the company decided to install a temporary portable generator. Figure1. Toggle switch mounted on temporary genset control panel The temporary generator was a containerized Onan, model DFHD60, manufactured by Cummins Power Generation. It comprised a Cummins diesel engine driving an Onan single bearing alternator. The self- contained unit is equipped with a fully-integrated Power Command Control (PCC) microprocessor-based system, used for monitoring, metering, governing, and voltage regulation. The PCC manages a parallelling function, however by use of a bypass switch on the generator, it is possible to override the PCC system and operate the genset as a stand alone unit (seeFigure1). The installation of the genset took place at the Royal Seaforth Container Dock in Liverpool (U.K.) on 05April2001 by a service engineer from the generator supplier in collaboration with the ship's engineers. The containerised genset was secured aft on a cargo hatch cover in way of bay45. Power cables were run from the containerised genset circuit breaker to the No2 SSG circuit breaker, located on the main switchboard. Due to physical limitations of the size of the installed supply cables, the load was initially restricted to 400kW. As per arrangement with the company, a LR surveyor attended the vessel. Upon arrival, the surveyor was advised that No2 SSG was out of service, that a temporary replacement genset had been installed, but that all connections had not been fully completed. The surveyor was informed by the ship's staff that the remaining SSGs (Nos1 and3) were capable of providing sufficient power to supply the vessel's electrical services, and that the temporary genset would not be parallelled with the other SSGs. Based on this information, Lloyd's accepted the genset after testing it in a stand-alone operation mode. Accordingly, a Condition of Class, expiring in August2001 was imposed with a notation which read: . . . temporary standby auxiliary engine now fitted on aft deck, in way of cargo hatch cover at bay45. Temporary engine power supply connected to vessel's switchboard. Engine trial carried out accordingly and found satisfactory. After the survey, the vessel departed in the evening and the genset supplier's service engineer remained on board to conduct extra work during the voyage to Antwerp. Figure2. Arrangement of the temporary potentiometer on main switchboard On the vessel's subsequent return to Liverpool on 26April2001, additional load and control cables were installed by a shore-based service engineer. This allowed the temporary genset to run at its maximum capacity of 900kW. As the genset was still not capable of automatically sharing electrical load when running in parallel with the other SSGs, a potentiometer was installed on the main switchboard (seeFigure2), which allowed the crew to balance the load by controlling the genset's governor manually. Parallel tests up to 700kW were conducted. A written procedure, detailing both stand-alone and parallel operations2, was posted at the main switchboard. LR was not requested to attend the vessel at this time and was not made aware of the changes in the installation of the temporary genset. LR was still under the understanding that it would be used only in the stand-alone mode. Characteristics of the electronic PCC, however, were such that the temporary genset was unable to automatically share and balance the load when working in parallel with the other SSGs. History of the Voyage On 22July2001, the CastPrivilege sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, bound for Montral, Canada, with a load of containers, 19 of which required electrical power to operate refrigeration equipment. On 29July2001, around 0800, the vessel arrived at the St. Lawrence River pilot boarding area off Les Escoumins, Quebec. A second steering gear pump was started and the Chief Engineer, in accordance with company procedures, began stand-by duty in the engine control room. SSGs1 and3 were running in parallel, as they had been since Antwerp, to meet the electrical demand which varied between 800and 1000kW. Figure3. Ship's approximate track after blackout and grounding position That evening, shortly after 2300, the duty engineer noticed a fuel leak emanating from the fuel pump on cylinder B-3 of the No3SSG. The Chief Engineer was immediately informed and he detailed the 3rd Engineer to undertake repairs. Before shutting down the No3SSG, the temporary genset was started and, as per the posted procedure, was run in parallel with No1SSG. Once the load was switched from the No3SSG to the temporary genset, the No3SSG was shut down for repairs. At 2341, some forty minutes later, No1SSG tripped off the main board and the temporary genset shut down, blacking out the vessel. At the time of the blackout, the vessel was proceeding at 9.5knots and on a starboard course alteration into Bellmouth curve (just southeast of le Saint-Ours). The rudder, which was already to starboard due to the course alteration, caused the vessel to swing out of the channel and run aground in position 4554'10N; 07313'26W (seeFigure3). The Chief Engineer immediately attempted to reset the main circuit breaker on No1SSG. At this time, he noticed that the No1SSG was not generating any voltage. He then decided to send the 3rd Engineer to the temporary genset on deck and restart it locally . The 3rd Engineer reached the genset container, opened the door, flipped the toggle switch to single unit, reset the PCC, and turned the key switch to the run position, at which point the genset started. Power was restored at about 2350. The vessel's engineers then worked to repair the No3SSG. Once operational, No3SSG was tested and readied to be put on line. When the temporary genset was operating in stand-alone mode, it was not possible to bring it on line with the SSG. To prevent any further electrical interruption, the main breaker of the No3SSG was kicked in as the main breaker of the temporary genset was simultaneously tripped out. The temporary genset was then shut down, its selector switch turned to parallel, the unit restarted and run parallel with the No3SSG. About 0150, after some manoeuvring, the CastPrivilege was refloated without tug assistance and resumed the voyage without further problem. During the transit to Montral, the ship's electrician discovered three burnt diodes on the No1SSG exciter. The vessel docked at section78 of the Port of Montral at 0527. Vessel Condition and Certification The vessel and the company were in possession of valid ISM certification issued by Bureau Veritas in April1998. The vessel's inspection certificates were valid for the voyages being conducted however, as the engine-room machinery's alarm and automatic mode operations were not functioning, the Unmanned Machinery Space certificate had been suspended by LR in March2000. At the time of the occurrence, the No2 SSG was out of service. Personnel Certification and Experience The Chief Engineer was in possession of a Croatian-issued Certificate of Competency as Chief Engineer for use on motor-driven vessels. He had been working in the capacity of Chief Engineer on this and on other vessels for approximately three years. He had joined the CastPrivilege after the temporary genset had been installed and (like all other engineers on board) had been made aware of its operation during hand over. The LR surveyor dispatched to the CastPrivilege at Liverpool on 05April2001 graduated in July1991 from University of Liverpool as Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical / Marine / Design Engineering. He became a Lloyd's Register Trainee Surveyor from September1991 to September1993, Surveyor on Development from September1993 to September1995 and Basic Surveyor as of September1995. Requirements for Replacement Machinery Both SOLAS and Lloyd's have performance requirements which must be met by temporary equipment replacements. SOLAS 2001, Part D, Electrical Installations, Reg. 40 pt 1.1, and 1.2 state, inter alia, that: Electrical installations shall be such that: all electrical auxiliary services necessary for maintaining the ship in normal operational and habitable conditions will be ensured without recourse to the emergency source of electrical power. and, Electrical services essential for safety will be ensured under various emergency conditions. Lloyd's Register Ship Division Survey Procedures Manual Part E, Existing Ships, July 1993 (Lloyd's internal surveyor guide) states that: The surveyor should see that all essential repairs are efficiently carried out and, whenever advisable, should witness a working test upon completion. (Section 6, Paragraph 6.8 Effecting Repairs) Where it is proposed to fit on board a classed ship a second-hand part intended for essential service and which was not made under LR survey, then it should be examined throughout, the scantling checked and any necessary hydraulic, electrical or running tests applied. When the part in question is fitted in place of one which has been removed on account of damage or some other reason, it should be verified that its power or capacity is adequate for the purpose intended. (Section 8, Paragraph 8.2 Fitting On Classed Ships)